Greece beaches, naturist beaches, real estate, car rentals and hotels

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Ikaria

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Kythira

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Marathi

Milos

Mykonos

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Nikouria

Patmos

Paros

Rafina

Rematonisi

Rhodos

Samos

Santorini

Schinoussa

Sifnos

Skiathos

Skopelos

Spinalonga

Symi

Syros

Telendos

Thassos

Thymena

Tinos

Zakynthos

Welcome to my homepage of the Greek islands.
My name is Hans Huisman, the superfan of Greece, and I live in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. I've been visiting the Greek islands for a long period and one day I started a small website that just kept growing and growing. I go to Greece two or three times a year, usually in May, September and October. Over the years I've seen around 30 islands and some I have visited more than once, sometimes up to ten times or more. I have visited the Cyclades, the Sporades, the islands in the Northern Aegean, Rhodes and the biggest and the most beautiful of them all (for me so far): Crete. If you navigate the islands on the left you will notice that some islands contain much more information than others. These islands that have more info and pictures are mostly my favourite islands that I visit once or twice a year (Crete, Mykonos, Tinos, Paros, Lesbos, Antiparos). The website is regularly updated with new pages and new pictures, so check it from time to time. If you want you can subscribe to my newsletter and get noticed for updated, special offers and discounts for some of the hotels!

PS: below are some answers to the most asked questions :)! Please read them first and if you still have questions feel free to send me an email. For questions about the ferries please check the internet...I don't know all the schedules, if it is possible and at what time and how much it costs :/, sorry... If you cannot find your connection from island A to island B than just assume there is none at the time that you want to and make another plan. Also please read the notes about the ferries below on this page.

My top 5 luxury hotels and villa's.


Villa Filitsa Crete Luxury in a historic building	Villas Crete Private villas with private pool	Archontiko Leros Be pampered in style in a mansion	Lesbos Beach Houses Have the beach at your doorstep	La Passione Lesbos Beautiful new and stylish apartments

My top 5 peace and quiet.


Maison Eriki Crete Stars in the sky, peace in a mountain village	Studios Ioanna Samos Such a lovely village 100% recommended, top!	Panorama Villas Samos Peace and quiet, views beautiful beach below	Mathio's Studios Patmos Superspot, no cars secret beach closeby	Dolphin Apts. Antiparos Beautiful and quiet near the beach

My top 5 low budget hotels and apartments.


Irini Apartments Crete The cheapest and completely renovated	Mike's Place Antiparos Beautiful views and I love the owner Lilian	Nassos Lesbos Cheap prices in this guesthouse in Molyvos	Madonna Studios Lesbos Lots of seaview for littke money	Villa Theo Zakynthos Beautiful and cheap near the beach

Click here to see my favorite hotels and apartments on the islands
I hope one day these pages are going to be one of the best and most complete website for Greece on the internet. You will find many links to other beautiful pages, and guides to beautiful desolate beaches and quiet villages. You can email me if you have any questions and you can write in my guestbook. There is also a section for a couple of the hotels that I always enjoy staying at, because they are so special and they are run by dedicated, friendly and special people. Have fun on these pages and off course have even more fun in Greece!!

The best periods to visit the Greek islands.
In juli and august it can get quite crowded (and hot...) in Greece. This is why I would advice everybody if possible to travel to Greece in may, june, september or october, so out of high season. Besides, in juli and august it's not only more crowded and more difficult to find an nice place to stay, it's also much more expensive. In may and june you will also notice that the islands are much more green and full of flowers. The temperature of the sea water will be a little bit more cold, but you can still swim in it ;). Just jump into it nose first and don't measure the temperature with your big toe before you do so.

Why go islandhopping?
I like islandhopping in Greece so much because the Greek islands are all so different and because it's so easy to hop on a ferry when you think you are finished with one. You just go to the next island. I've created this page because I'm Greek-island-crazy and I'm always browsing the internet going from one page to another in my 'favourites'. This way I have all these websites on one page, including the maps of the Greek islands and the Greek ferryschedules. My favourite islands are Mykonos, Tinos, Antiparos, Anafi, Patmos, Paros, and Crete, or maybe an island that I haven't seen yet. My best tip would be to rent a car on the island you arrive so you van check out the places that other people do not see, and to find those beautiful quiet beaches that I always enjoy. On the top of the page is a button for a car rental on several islands that I always use when I am going on a holiday.

A look down from Ano Syros to Ermoupolis, the capital of the Cyclades on the island of Syros

GREEK ISLAND TIPS - ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
For the people that are looking for a quiet spot I recommend in the first place to travel outside the high season, but if that is not possible than there are a couple of islands and places on islands that are relatively quiet. Normally it will get more quiet if you travel away from the main village of an island or stay away from the touristic coastal settlements. Many people stay in the village where the ferry docks, but if you are looking for some peace and quiet it is better to book something at the other side of the island, or take a taxi and ask a suggestion from the driver. The easiest would be to pack your suitcase very basic (I always only have handluggage, about six kilo, to make it convieniant to travel from one place to the next) and rent a car to have a look around for yourself and see if there is a village on the island that you really like and where you want to spend some time. In almost every village where the ferries sail in there are one or more car rentals. Only at Donoussa, Gavdos and Anafi couldn't rent a car in the harbour. On these two islands there are only a few hotels and it would be wise to book something upfront. This would also be a good thing for people to do if they travel in Greece in the highseason. The nicest and cheapest hotels are easily booked out first. The most quiet islands I have been are the ones I have meantioned here (Donoussa, Gavdos and Anafi). To these islands there is very little traffic from the ferries, so you must check the schedules before you sail to them, so you know when you can go back or go to the next island. In the south of Crete, the south of Antiparos and on the islands of Lesbos, Andros and Chios there are also quiet spots, but as I said before: on almost every island there are quiet places, you just have to look for them. On Crete you avoid Chersonissos and Malia and large parts of the northcoast. Intimate and cute are for instance the villages of Agia Pelagia, Bali, Georgioupolis and Analipsi (also in the north of Crete). On Kos and Rhodes Town it can become quite buzzling, but I have to say that I personally don't like Kos, but I think that Rhodes and Rhodes Town have their charm. Rhodes Town is beautiful and filled with old glory and cozyness, and on the island of Rhodes there are also large beaches with plenty of space.

Hans Huisman, Samos Ireon THE PRETTIEST ISLANDS
What the most beautiful islands are is a matter of opinion and if I think that an island is attractive you might think differently. Very often it depends not only on the landscape and what the villages and the beaches look like, but also on the atmosphere and the people that live there. Personally I believe that Crete is the pretties island of them all, but it is also the biggest of them all, and there is something for everybody: culture, museums, escavations, nightlife and beautiful beaches: Crete is the total package. The biggest mistake would be to stay in one spot. You really need to rent a car and explore the island. I must have spent 7 or 8 months alltogether on the island and I still have seen only a fraction of it. This island has enchanted me so much that one day I want to buy a house on Crete and live there. The nature and the landscape of Andros and Lesbos are much like Crete: green and mountainous with a beautiful nature. The island of Tinos, situated between Mykonos and Andros in the Cyclades, is the opposite: brown and dry with oasises dotted around it. This island with its old terraces (against erosion) also has a beautiful landscape. In the south of Paros you can find many nice small beaches that are usually empty because they can only be reaches by foot. Also on Naxos there are quiet spots, and even on the party island of Mykonos (you would need a car though). I want to make a quick note that the money that is made from the tourists on Mykonos and Naxos is not spend on the roads, because the roads are often very bad on these islands or there is none (dirttracks). Overall said and with exceptions the northern islands like Alonissos, Skopelos and Skiathos (the Sporades) and islands like Lesbos, Corfu and Zakynthos are more green than the islands in the south. Big exception is the big green island of Crete, that is one of the most southern islands of Greece (only Gavdos, Gavdopoula and some satelite islands of Crete are situated more south).

THE FRIENDLIEST PEOPLE
It's the people that make the island. First there has to be a basis off course (a great hotel, nice beaches, good weather, delicious food etcetera), but in the end the atmosphere on an island makes you like or dislike an island. On all the islands the people are a bit different. The islands with the kindest people are in my point of view Antiparos, Samos, Mykonos, Patmos, Leros and Crete. Do nots are in this case Santorini and, where I found the people very unpleasant, and in Donoussa there was a language barriere. On both islands the people could have been friendlier in my opinion, in Santorini you were ignored and the people were rude and for this reason they will not quickly see me back. In the case of Donoussa this is a real shame because it is really a very attractive small island and all the other ingredients were there to make it MY island: it's quiet, the nature is pretty, and we found a lovely empty beach after a long walk.

NIGHTLIFE ON THE ISLANDS OF GREECE
To some islands you go just to rest and lay on the beach, to others you go to party and enjoy the nightlife, and it is easy to combine these two things by hopping the islands on your holiday. On Mykonos, Rhodes and Crete you can party until early in the mornings, and in most of the islands capitols there is some form of entertainment. Even small islands like Antiparos have a square with a couple of nice bars, and so nobody has to feel bored. As for myself I prefer usually to stay at home late in the evening and have a drink on my balcony while looking at the sea. Lately I have started to make restaurant guides for some islands. As for now it is just for Mykonos, Lesbos, Andros and a bit for Paros and Antiparos, but more islands will follow soon. And as for guides for discotheques and bars: there will probably be none from my hand.

FOOD AND DRINKS IN GREECE
Prices in the supermarkets in Greece are a little bit higher that in the supermarkets of Holland, but going out to dinner is much cheaper, with the exception of maybe Mykonos (but also here you can have a cheap bite if you look around, take a look at my restaurant guide of this island). Pretty expensive is the coffee. This is why I always bring my French press (a small coffee maker) and often make a cup of coffee myself. This is especially great for the mornings when you just woke up, so you don't need to leave the hotel while your face is still all cracked. This way you can have a quick and delicious cup of coffee and you save a lot of money. For the people that like an alcoholic drink there is good news: the spirits and wines that are made in Greece, like ouzo, metaxa (a kind of cognac) and the raki (made of grapes) are very cheap.

NATURISM / NUDISM ON THE BEACHES OF GREECE
Naturism is mostly not allowed on the Greek islands, but sunbathing without a top on the beaches outside the villages mostly is. On some islands like for instance Crete, Lesbos, Samos, Mykonos, Paros and Antiparos there are one or more beaches for naturists, and on most islandsyou can find a way somehow. The Greek Islands where I didn't swim in my birthday suit has not been invented yet. Usually it is just a matter of making a walk to a secluded beach and just take off all of your clothes. Most beaches where nudism is allowed are as far as I know on the island of Antiparos and in the south of Crete there is one official nudist beach (Filaki) but on most of the other beaches in the south everybody just take off all their clothes, sometimes on a separate part of the beach (usually at the end). On the beaches that are situated directly in the villages you are supposed to wear a swimsuit, because Greece is still a pretty traditional and religious country. Having said this I want to ad that they are in my opinion very friendly and tolerant.

SPECIAL AND / OR CHEAP HOTELS
Hotels and apartments, studios and rooms.....I have seen so many in the course of years. I keep getting questions from people if I had any tips for a nice hotel on this or that island. At a certain moment I started adding the nicest hotels to my website in such a way that you can contact the owner by mail and/or telephone. On some islands I always go to the same place, like for instance on Paros with the sweetheart Anna, on Tinos with uh....Anna (another one with the same name) and on Lesbos I have several favorites, amongst which a fantastic beachhouse in Mystegna (see picture) and a couple of other great and cheap hotels on the island, two hotels on my favorite island of Crete where I always go to, well...the list is endless. There is a special page for the hotels and some hotels I have persuaded to make a special offer for just my website.

PLANE TICKETS OR A HOLIDAY PACKAGE??
Usually I buy just a ticket for the plane and not a holiday package. On an island like Crete or Lesbos, that is a bit bigger than the usual island in Greece, I make sure that there is a car for me at the airport, and on the smaller islands where you arrive on the ferry you will usually be picked up by the owner of the hotel where you booked your stay. You just have to give your flight information or give them the name of the boat that you are on and they will pick you up at the airport or the harbour. If you buy a separate ticket and book the hotels also separate it will normally be cheaper than buying a combined trip to several islands.

THE FERRIES
Many people ask me about connections and times of the ferries in Greece, but people....I don't know it all. You can check these things on the internet. Often the schedules are not ready yet or they haven't been approved yet, and this way you will still know nothing at all. If you book a hotel on one of the islands usually the owner of the hotel will know the times of the boats and where they come from and go to on what days, how long it takes etcetera. Many people fly to Athens and get the boat there to the destination island sailing from Piraeus. As for myself I always go to the other harbour of Athens, called Rafina. This harbour is close to the airport and you don't have to drive all through Athens to get there. There are regular busses from the airport to Rafina and if you take a taxi this is not so expensive. The only disadvantage of Rafina is that there are only boats in the morning and in the late afternoon, and they only go to Andros, Tinos and Mykonos, and occasionally to Evia. From Tinos or Mykonos you can travel to a lot of other islands like for instance Syros, Paros and Naxos. For me this is better than the chaos in Piraeus. By the way: Rafina is a cozy small coastal settlement and it is absolutely no punishment if you have to spend the night there. There are good restaurants in the harbour and there is a beach, so you can make a short stop and be on your way the next morning. There are highspeed boats (the fast ones) and normal ferries. I prefer the normal ferries, not just because they cost only half of the ticket that you pay for the fast ones, but also because the highspeeds are smaller, have little fresh air and they make you throw up when the sea is rough. On the normal boats you can go and sit on the deck and see the islands go by: much nicer. Some tickets (Crete / Italy - Corfu for instance you can book ahead if you want at the website of Aferryto ferries.

THE WEBSITE
On the left side of the website are the navigation buttons to go to the island. These are: Alonissos, Amorgos, Anafi, Andros, Antiparos, Chios, Corfu, Crete, Delos, Diplo, Donoussa, Gavdos, Ikaria, Ios, Kalymnos, Koufonissia, Kos, Lesbos, Mykonos, Naxos, Nikouria, Paros, Patmos, Rematonisi, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos, Skopelos, Spinalonga, Symi, Syros, Telendos, Thassos, Tinos and Zakynthos. There are also links to real estate on Corfu, Crete, Lesbos and Greece, the Peloponnesos, plus tips for hotels, nice beaches and car rental on the islands of Greece. Because I regularly get questions from people about naturistbeaches in Greece I have also made a few special pages for nudism. I hope that everybody will have a wonderful time in Greece. If you have tips or nice pictures or a nice story that you would like to share than please send them to me and I will put it on the website (with your name if you like to).

Hans Huisman, www.angelfire.com/super2/greece 2000 - 2008 <XMP></body></xmp>